Ola opens Ola Play for Prime category

Opening up Ola Play to customers beyond those on Ola Select is a way to win back customers it has lost to Uber.Supraja Srinivasan | ET Bureau | January 20, 2017, 14:13 IST

Ola has opened up its connected car platform Ola Play for customers on its Prime category 2 months after it was first launched on Ola Select – its premium subscription category.

The Bengaluru-based cab-hailing application, backed by Japanese internet and telecom giant Softbank Corp, claims a growth of 300% on its Ola Select platform since Ola Play launched in late November. “Our subscription on Select has increased 3x. A lot of that growth in can be attributed to the fact that Prime Play was available on Select only,” Ankit Jain, Head of Ola Play told ET.

The taxi aggregator is looking to outmatch rival Uber through a slew of services in a bid to stay differentiated. Opening up Ola Play to customers beyond those on Ola Select is a way to win back customers it has lost to Uber. “We have big ambitions for Ola Play. By 2017 end, we want over 50% of the rides on Ola to be enabled with Prime Play,” Jain said.